Review Sections

Google Wallet Overview

Updated 1/28/2019: Google Wallet has been discontinued as a standalone service. It is now part of Google Pay (pay.google.com). We therefore will no longer update this review.

Launched in September 2011, Google Wallet (google.com/wallet) is a free digital wallet app provided by Google. Google Wallet is available for Android phones and iPhones, and it allows customers to send money to each other via the app or a Gmail account. Google Wallet previously enabled users to check out at physical locations, but it has since migrated this feature to its “Android Pay” product. Android Pay uses NFC technology to enable customers with compatible hardware to “tap and pay” at the point of sale. It appears that Google Wallet has fully shifted its focus to peer-to-peer payments.

Before March 2015, Google Wallet was incompatible with T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T phones due to the competing Softcard app offered by those wireless carriers. Now that Softcard has been retired, Google Wallet will come preinstalled on all Android phones and be compatible with all carriers. This arrangement may change with the launch of Samsung Pay, a mobile wallet app from smartphone manufacturer Samsung, or the adoption of Android Pay.

Key Points

Sales & Marketing: Google Wallet is available as a free download and does not advertise any deceptive rates.

Costs & Contract: Google Wallet is a free service for non-business users and sole proprietors.

Google Wallet Statement Analyzer

Find hidden fees, pricing errors, and overcharges in your Google Wallet merchant account statement. Not with Google Wallet? That's ok, we can find excessive fees in any credit card processing statement. We've already found $1,156,834 in hidden fees this year! Submit a recent statement to try it out for free!

Products & Services Offered

Types of Businesses Served

Our unbiased reviews are supported, in part, by helping you find highly rated merchant accounts. You can learn more here.

Google Wallet Rates, Fees, and Costs

Key Points

Swiped Rate

None

Keyed-in Rate

None

Early Termination Fee

None

PCI Compliance Fee

None

Equipment Lease Terms

None

Google Wallet is designed to integrate neatly with many of the services that its users already employ. Android users can automatically sign into apps with their Google accounts, Gmail users can send ACH transfers to one another for free (with a 2.9% transaction fee for credit and debit card Gmail transfers), and Google Play users automatically create Wallet accounts when they make payments in the Play Store. Google Wallet previously allowed users to make payments outside of the Google family of services by providing a free Google Wallet Card that was attached to a user’s Wallet balance, but it has discontinued this service. Google Wallet also enabled users to pay with their phones in stores using compatible devices, but this feature is no longer available either. A full list of the devices that can use Google Wallet can be found here.

Google Wallet has minimal value for merchants due to the fact that it is built for peer-to-peer payments. However, sole proprietorships are permitted to use the platform to send and receive payments for free. Corporations and non-profits are not permitted to use Google Wallet for commercial transactions.

In terms of security, Google Wallet requires a PIN to open the app and send payments, and the company offers a Purchase Protection plan that covers 100% of all unauthorized payments that are reported within 180 days of being processed. The financial information stored in Google Wallet is encrypted and stored in remote servers, and Google Wallet accounts can be remotely disabled in the event of phone theft or card loss.

Where Google suffers is the all-in-one integration of its profiles and services. As with any other Google service, a compromised Google profile for just one service—most notably, Gmail—could possibly compromise all of a user’s other Google services. In other words, if a user stores his or her card information in her Google account with Google Wallet, then that information—bank account information, card information, personal information—is only as safe as that Google account. Although Google Wallet’s use of a PIN to authorize payments and its Purchase Protection plan ensure that any damages will be limited, it’s still fundamentally risky to store that much sensitive data for so many different services all in one account across multiple devices.

Google Wallet Complaints & Customer Reviews

Key Points

Total Online Complaints

40+

Live Customer Support

Yes

Most Common Complaint

Fund Holds

We’ve received more than 40 negative Google Wallet reviews in the comment section below, most of which describe fund holds or being ripped off by another Google Wallet user and receiving no assistance from Google.

There are 47,963 total user ratings of Google Wallet in the Play Store, with the ratings averaging 4.4 out of 5 possible stars. Common complaints include limited NFC capability (specific to certain devices), long delays in Gmail money transfers (four to six days), fund holds for suspicious transactions, poor customer service, and unavailability outside the U.S.

There are 66 total reviews of Google Wallet in the iTunes App Store, where the app averages 4.9 out of 5 stars. Complainants mostly note issues with sign-in and software malfunctions, but this is an uncommon use case.

Users who are concerned about the possibility of fund holds with Google Wallet should be sure to read the Google help page found here.

Truth In Marketing & Advertising

Key Points

Employs Independent Resellers

No

Advertises Deceptive Rates

No

Discloses All Important Terms

Yes

Google markets Google Wallet as a free service for anyone with a Google account. The service comes pre-installed on many Android phones, although users will need to set up account details in the app before they can use it. Since Google does not charge people to use the service, it isn’t really possible for the company to misrepresent its pricing to its users. Some Google Wallet complaints state that they were not properly informed of potential hold times or transaction limits, which could be classified as a nondisclosure issue. However, it is unrealistic to expect Google Wallet to warn potential users away from using an app that was preinstalled on their phone on the grounds that they might experience transaction delays or fund holds.

Google Wallet Marketing Example

Promotional Message

The ad above is served by Google Adsense and may display ads for poorly rated providers. Research is recommended after visiting an advertiser.

Our Opinion of Google Wallet

Google Wallet provides an easy, free way for users to send and receive payments. The service has dramatically scaled back its available features as Android Pay and Samsung Pay have been introduced to the payments market. The service as it stands is solid, but it does not appear to have a strong payments focus at this time.

About Phillip Parker

Thank you for reading my review. I hope that it has helped you with your research.

Why I'm Qualified to Write About Credit Card Processing

I'm a former credit card processing sales director who left the industry to start my own a small business. From the time that I starting working in the merchant services industry to when I left to write about it, I've been on the pulse of payments for nearly 15 years. It didn't seem fair to keep this insider knowledge to myself, so built this website to help small business owners research which service providers to use and how to save money on rates and fees. I've reviewed hundreds of companies, read thousands of user reviews, and learned the pricing tricks of every provider. If you have questions about credit card processing, you can find the answers here. I can help you save money with your current merchant account or help you find a new one. Message me here to get started.

Get started right away! I've help businesses save $1,156,834 this year alone! Submit a recent statement and I'll take a look at it for free.

68ReviewsLeave Your Review for Google Wallet Below

Horrible experience–After being loyal and using google wallet to pay for items, I was emailed asking for details of what I was using the service for. I responded that I liked their service but did not feel comfortable disclosing that information. A few days later, I received an email telling me that I have been cut off and would not be allowed to use their app any longer. WT?

I had someone send me $500 in two transactions and 4 days later and after 35 phone calls, my money still has not arrived.

This company incredibly does everything possible to hold your money and employs spiteful, biligerant millenial assholes to waste your time and discourage you from correcting the numberous mistakes they don’t correct.

I probably won’t receive my money for a full week because of a spiteful supervisor or CS rep. I have used them in the past, but they recently have gotten many bad reviews for a sabotaging CS department. They cost me hundreds of dollars in lost revenue and wasted time.

Don’t be fooled by the Google name. This service will intentionally hold-up your transactions and abuse you.

DO NOT USE GOOGLE WALLET! I was scammed on here and Google Wallet refused to do anything to help or refund me. Their customer service is terrible. Considering what a huge company Google is, they have absolutely no security/fraud protection plan which is very disappointing.

Google wallet has taken my money from my bank account that I had sent out to a person but they decided AFTER they went into my account, to put it on hold, still no idea why but didn’t care because it was a terrible experience from day 1!! It’s been 2 weeks now and I’m STILL waiting on my money to be returned to my account. I have contacted them almost everyday for the past week and there’s nothing but morons who work there and tell u something that has nothing to do with what’s going on. Then eventually tell u it will be returned within 10 days….. and I am still waiting!!! The ABSOLUTE WORST!!! THEY SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN or hire people who know what they’re doing! I’m about to call a lawyer because my money has been stolen and by them!

I have no idea what went wrong with the disgruntled customers here. I sent my daughter 200$ she rec’d it as fast as a text, deposited it as fast as a text and spent it with her debit card ás fast as a text. Total Time 11 minutes. we both use the same bank👍👍

I have used Google Wallet, and it is a wonderful, useful tool…however, they need customer service reps that speak fluent English, and understand English as well…so frustrating when I have explain myself…slowly…OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

BREAKING: Google Wallet has changed it’s accepted funding method recently. Up to now, you could use any credit card to fund your account (I would always give them just a virtual account number from Citi Bank with a limited amount of dollars and time). But now, Google Wallet rejects all credit cards… which it has been accepting for years. Now, THE ACCEPT ONLY DIRECT ACCESS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, via account numbers or the debt card number. Google continues down the slope of further and further invasion of privacy. Now, essentially… you can’t even pay for an Android app on your phone, without giving Google access to your personal bank info… Really?

Google wallet cancelled my transaction, but did get my money from my bank account. Have been trying to get it back. Their help team comes up with different stories each time you talk or email with them. First it was 10 working days before they would return it when I talked to them last week. Now it’s 10 working days from July 8. Had a 3 way conversation with my bank, Google wallet supervisor and me. Despite Google wallet saying that they initiated the return of funds on July 8, my bank could not find any trace of it today, July 15. Google wallet keeps blaming the bank for the hold up.

If you just want to send or receive money carelessly, and with complete and utter disregard for your own money, then yes it is usable. But! If you actually care how you’re money is being handled, then DO NOT use it. Since it only asks for a Debit Card, it’s a lot easier to scam people out of their money. It’s also a lot harder to dispute those charges and get your money back. And google wallet doesn’t really seem to care about scammers. There’s no convenient way of disputing charges or combating scammers. I would not recommend this app as a device to handle online payment. Seriously. Just don’t.

Probably crooks. Have arbitrarily blocked my account and to unlock want: driving licence, passport, birth certificate, bank cardb bank statements, and utility bills. Any attempt to query this is met with repeated demands and warnings not to try to shut account down and reopen. Does that sound like the actions of a legitimate business? Crooks.

Google Wallet scam. Recently I transferred money, less than $500 to a nephew. Have done so just a few times before. They “cancelled” the transaction claiming there was a “security issue”. So I called and they said they cleared it up and to try again. Stupid me. I did it again. I looked at my statement and see 2 debits on my account. Google took the money and failed to deliver it. Twice. After telling me they would fix it. They need 15 calendar days to return the money “so long as my bank allows it”. Unreal. Never EVER use this service.

These guys are crooks they have had 2300.00 of mine for over a month and they keep giving me excuse after excuse have had me fill out forms and prove my identity 3 times and still no refund. I will never use anything Google related ever again. They are internet Mafia!! You have ruined my life Google, no joke!!

This is the worst money app I have ever used!! It takes days for money to transfer and Google blames it on that bank when the bank didn’t see anything pending on their end. I’m sure Google gains interest for money that’s just sitting so that’s why it takes so long. Yes, I will be posting this everywhere possible.

Same here! They are advertising an INSTANT TRANSFER! they take your money but dot transfer them right the way!
I even called my bank and they said there is no transfer! Company based over seas in Philipiness!
Does anyone wants to join me on filing a law suite against them? They are crooks and needs to be stop!

The ABSOLUTE WORSE experience! NEVER EVER use this! they say you will have the money within Minutes…LIES!!!! they said you can just not accept it and the money will be back in the other account… this is after an entire business day of multiple phone calls, attempts, chats on line…LIES! They are holding my money hostage and I do not have access to it for possibly 10 DAYS. that is a lot of minutes!!! THis is NOT what the advertisement says. THIS is a very NASTY way to do business. I could have got in my car and drove to the other side of Georgia where I could have picked up the money in 3 short hours, made the purchase I was anticipating making today and we all could have gone to sleep happy. BUT LIARS have taken access to that money and will not return it to the rightful owner.

I transferred money to somebody, who in return promised me to send me a pair of shoes, which he never did (fraud obviously)…If I file a complaint now, is there any chance of Google refunding my money or getting it back from the account that I transferred it to?

Seriously doubt it. Google’s policy when money is legitimately due to be returned is 3-5 business days but they don’t live to that. The fine print says 10 business days which is more like 15 calendar days.

Most of the people I know who used this app have dropped it. Their customer service is in the Philippines and it’s just a contractor, not Google paid employees.

I was scammed using my credit card – which was 100% my fault – but when I called Google Wallet to report the account/email that was associated with the scam (to maybe save some other sucker from being scammed by this same person), I (1) could barely understand the representative and (2) was basically told that there was nothing that they could do or would do. Really? How about flag the account/email and watch for further scam activity or complaints? Closing my wallet today.

Google Wallet is the worst service I have ever tried. — After deciding to accept a check from my renter, I refunded his $1,500 which he sent to me through Google Wallet. — I had to chat with 3 reps before they could even find our transaction! — One even said she can’t find it and is scared for me. WTF? — After finally finding our transaction, a rep said that it was returned the next day but our bank rejected it (which our bank says never happened). — Now they are saying that we need to wait 2 weeks to see if it comes through even though they took the $1,500 in 2 seconds! — Don’t even use this service! — They are clueless and hang on to funds for 2 weeks so that they can earn interest on our money. — Horrible..

Google Wallet has illegally hijacked $135 of my money for a month and blocked me from being able to access it. I’ve called them repeatedly and repeatedly been assured the problem will be fixed shortly, and then nothing happens. Don’t use google wallet. #criminal #fraud

Setting up Google Wallet is absolutely RIDICULOUS! Uploading all of your personal documentation in order to use it is ludicrous. They should make consumers aware of the red tap involved and the be CLEAR about the ENTIRE process upfront!

Google closed my payment account unilaterally. They claim I have violated their terms of service, yet are unwilling to even name which one and in which manner I did so. I have read these terms over and over and believe I did not violate them. Google payment is the worst. Do not rely on them for anything.

After they got rid of the google wallet card it went downhill from there, You can’t even have more than $300-500 in your account without it having to be fraud. They don’t let you use prepaid cards, and don’t tell you why their closing your account even if you submit your ID! but will allow a dispute to be opened and then make your account negative and bug you with spammy emails! customer reps are great but the risk team don’t know what they’re doing at all, why ask us are we gonna use the app for services and business then suspense us?! stay away at all cost.. and even if your account is suspended and you have money in your avaliable balance they will send it back to your bank account but it takes 10 days!

Truly a nightmare for customer service! I have been trying to get a refund that was made by the vendor over a month and half ago and the customer service people do not understand their (Google Wallet’s) procedures and there is no direct access to anyone higher up!

DO JOTBUSE THIS IF YOU WANT YOUR MONEY FAST OR IN A WEEK OR IN A MONTH! Please listen to the reviews before you download google wallet. They locked my sons account as soon as $100 came through. They have had his money tied up since September the middle of September and it is now almost the middle of October. They never gave a reason for closing the account. They just closed it. You cannot use a prepaid card to transfer funds, and they definitely don’t make that clear when you first sign up. I was lied to by almost every representative. They sound nice and concerned, but ultimately don’t do anything to resolve your issues. So disappointed. This gave google a bad name.

I LOVE Google Wallet!! I use it all the time to send and receive money. The fact that deposits are instantly put into an account if you use a debit card puts this miles above PayPal as far as I’m concerned.
The ONLY downfall is that they discontinued the Google Wallet Card. Thjs was an invaluable accessory and I wish they would bring it back.

This users comment sounds like a scammer trying to validate his easy theft. I bought tickets to a sporting event and never received the tickets plus this scammer sold the exact same seats to the exact same event to over 20 different people.

I would write about the horrible experience I’ve had recently with GW, but I would just be repeating what’s already been said. So, I’ll just say ditto. I’m so embarrassed that I shared GW with so many people after having initial success AND I use it for business and now it has tremendously inconvenienced a client and is causing me to not have access to funds that I need now.

Tried to transfer $2k from my checking account, they immediately locked my google wallet and required me to upload some verification documents. I uploaded various docs more than ten times and still my account is locked. It’s been a year since my account is locked. Verification process just doesn’t work. Google staff hasn’t replied to any of my emails since sept 2015! Call them and they said I should email while they don’t respond. Worst experience possible for me. Don’t waste tour time working with google wallet cs.

Google wallet did not notify me that by cancelling a payment I would be in violation of the terms of their agreement. I simply did not understand the ins and outs of the service, I made a mistak, JEEZ. Also, Google wallet advised me to call my bank and notify them of the the cancellation, apparently another violation of the terms of their agreement. After which Google wallet closed my account, why the nerve! Sorry but that is complete bullshit!! One mistake and you are out. Don’t worry I won’t be back
Oh and another thing, in these days of electronic everything, there is no way anything should take 14 days, it should take no more than 2. So if you want to make or receive payments using Google wallet, think snail mail, it would actually be faster.
So yeah, your service sucks, surprisingly bad. I expected awesomeness from Google, WRONG!!!

DO NOT USE THIS HORRIBLE SERVICE! It is not reliable. CUSTOMER SERVICE is nonexistent. They tell you the same thing over and over – “takes up to 24 hours”, “it depends on the bank”, “Supervisor will email you within 24 hours”, “it could take up to three days”, despite the fact you keep telling them it’s been over 3 days. SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED for FRAUD. I used Wallet a few times before with no problems, but all it takes is one time with your money and you’re helpless. STILL DO NOT HAVE MY MONEY.

This is the worst service I have ever used. Every time I try to send a payment, I get an error message. The money gets deducted from my account but it never makes it to the recipient. GW’s customer service team is a joke. They are incapable of helping you and will always defer you to the “engineering team”, which you cannot speak with and are only available internally through the customer service team. If I could rate GW -5 stars I would. I implore anyone who reads this, DO NOT USE GOOGLE WALLET.

If I could warn everyone from using this, I would. If you ever need your money on time, and don’t want to deal with perpetual customer service agents telling you “your money is guaranteed to be in your account within 24hours” FOUR TIMES, only to not have your money appear each time….DO NOT USE GOOGLE WALLET. it has been a hairpulling run-around and I have wasted nearly two hours of my life communicating with account supervisors who keep telling me ‘your money is processing, the transaction is completed’, only to continually explain that nothing in my account is pending according to me bank….I have been on conference calls with my bank and Google, promised follow up calls/emails that never came, I have had to re-explain the issue to four different people and I am so done….there is still no resolution. I am at my wits end and the money that I desperately needed is inexplicably in limbo.

Google wallet is the worst. 10 days to deposit or withdraw money? Really??? The Customer service is friendly but totally clueless. They investigate almost every transaction for fraud. Funds can be tied up for a long time. Skip Google wallet.

Agreed. My same experience. Transfers take 15 days if you’re lucky. Staff is very polite and clueless. Every sentence begins with “Let me apologize”, and ends with, “I’m sorry though, there’s nothing I can do, it’s the system”.

Google wallet – DO NOT USE!!! Here is my experience. I thought it would be great to use the wallet as my main traveling card. When I put money on my card it always went though instantly. But for some reason, they had put a pending on it this time. . So now we are in a different state, with no excess to money. I used my card and did a test run, it went through instantly. So I put the rest of the money on my card to cover the hotel.. PENDING!!! FOR 3 or more days… Called they cannot push the process through any faster. Then I tried their different methods of putting money on the card by having someone else send me money. Those “Instant” or in a few days, ended up being 3 – 10 days later. So what happen with this it triggered a fraud alert. They closed my card. I called and filled out all the forms that they requesting, sending in my ID and bank statement. After I did all that, they still decided to suspend my account due to fraudulent activity. Even though i verified that it was me. They could not discuss the details with me. I filled out the form to request my money back.. Guess what it can take up to 10 days for my refund to be back. What a horrible experience with Google Wallet. NEVER EVER EVER. Then they suspended my husbands account…. WTF.. It is great in theory, but sucks. Can not rely on them. Then they closed my husband account…

On January 4th I called in to google to open up a dispute because money was token out the wrong account by my billing company …. I was first told that if I lock my wallet that it would stop the transaction, IT DID NOT stop the transaction so I called back to google and let them know what had happen the rep said well it won’t stop the transaction unless the money was taken when or after the wallet is locked… I just spoke to google again on the 6th because I go to pay a bill and I couldn’t because my card is CANCALED they told me because of the dispute they canceled it !!!!! I cant pay my bills and they showed no concern of caring at all !!! They told me to order the new card which will take 10-14 business days to get to me I also tried to transfer money to another card and because it’s a direct deposit card ONLY it can’t be transferred ! What a WASE, when a dispute is made and a card is to be canceled you let the customer know so there aware of what they need to do. When my card arrive I will most defiantly be taking my funds off that card I’M DONE you can’t trust the bank or a card you can load your own money to I’ll just get a safe bolted in home!!!!

The customer service is horrible, they never actually resolve any issues. I have been working with them on a weekly basis since October and cannot get our issue resolved after speaking with numerous “supervisors”. I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, # 458068, but still cannot get my issue resolved. My 12 year old son has received $126 in payments deposited into his Google Wallet account for soccer referring starting in September-November. However, since he is 12, Google Wallet, will not issue him a Google Wallet card and I cannot seem to get his money refunded so he can be paid. Try explaining to a 12 year old boy who has performed the work, and was paid via Google Wallet, that Google Wallet will not pay him because he is 12. It does not make any sense. I spoke to another supervisor again today, who again said they will get back to me, but I am sure that I will not hear from anyone who knows what to do to get this resolved. They are the worst!!!!

THIS SERVICE SUCKS! Someone sends me money and it works. Someone else sends me money and Google Wallet can’t verify me and wants my SSN, copies of my driver license, etc.. i refuse since I already have a card linked to the account as I use Google Voice for international calls sometimes (or used to before this) . I contact support and tell them I no longer wish to receive the monies and select to return the money to sender as instructed by google support so that I could receive payment via another service that I know is reliable. Well, 8 days later the monies have not been returned to sender although support stated it would happen right away. I provide the transaction ID for the return and still nothing. But I see now……. 10 days of interest times tens of thousands of people times who knows how much money. Great business model!

Google Wallet is NOT what they say it is! My daughter and I thought it would be a easy and quick way to transfer funds to myself from her. I have NEVER received the funds! Per the website it states 2 to 3 business days to get the transfer complete. We are looking at 10 business days at thus point. This company has caused my family a financial hardship. When I called to asked about the money, I received nothing but unprofessional rude customer service representative. Never thought in this time of 2015 a company as big as Google would have this kind of bad service. Would never recommend the Google Wallet to anyone! Hopefully one day soon I will have my money.

I attempted to purchase an airline ticket through Google Wallet, and was told three times it would not work. So I gave up, went to the airline’s webpage, and purchased the tickets though there for the same price.

I got an instant confirmation of purchase from the airline, ticket information and codes, and printable tickets.

Three days later I got a purchase confirmation from Google Wallet. (for the purchase I had been notified by GW would not go through).

I have now been on the phone with Google Wallet for an hour, as they attempt to find the ticket codes, confirmation number, or anything that would give me access to an actual ticket.

I originally tried to cancel the GW order, since I already had an airline ticket, but the customer service agent at the airline convinced me it would be less complicated to cancel the order directly with them, and only have to find the ticket code, since a refund would have to go from the airline to bookit.com, to google wallet, to me (each step taking 7-10 days).

I do not recommend Google Wallet. They charged me for a purchase three days after I had attempted and been told it wouldn’t work. And now, they can’t find the ticket information for the tickets I purchased.

Also, the customer service agent originally told me I needed to call Sun Country myself (which would have gotten me nowhere because they never gave me ticket info or confirmation numbers, and the number they did give me – the GW confirmation number does not help the airline find purchases).

I had demand three times that the GW customer service agent fix their mistake before he got a representative from the airline on the line, and now he is trying to get a representative from bookit.com on the line to find information so I can use the ticket GW purchased for me without my permission.

Wallet support is by far the most worthless or could be restricted department of any company I have ever dealt with. It has cost me hours of time on the phone and many emails and trips to my bank and finally my problem was resolved…….I thought. They sent me a new card , I had to get a new email account and I proceeded to put more money into the new account. It has money in it and to that they agree……however I seemed to be accused of violating their terms and therefore have locked the new account. I never even got to take a dime out of it. They say they have cancelled it at my request and If I provide them with proof as to who I am they will refund my money in 30 days or so. This is a stupid method of doing business. You know my Debit card works just fine and I have one less card to carry around.

i transfer about $500 from my bank into my Goggle Wallet card every month. I use the card to make many small purchases during the month. I have been doing this for several months without any problems. Normally the transfer takes a few seconds to do. Last time, the transfer was put on a 10 day hold.
Goggle Support was terrible. The support guy only knew there was a hold and the amount. He knew nothing about my transaction and kept on telling me about problems of debit card transactions. I asked if he could cancel the transaction and he told me it would only complicate manners and it was better to just wait out the hold. My bank was debited the amount immediately. I waited the ten days for the hold and still no money. I call Goggle Wallet support and they told me they were still waiting for the money to transfer. He then said he would bring the problem to a “specialist” Their advice was wait another day. Later on the day, money finally got to Goggle Wallet.

I used Google wallet to assist my daughter traveling across the country. At first the card worked well and when I transfered money either through credit or debit it happened quickly. I reached a $500 per moth credit card transfer limit (which I never under stood why the limit) and used my bank account instead.
The first times the transfer happened withing hours, but as I check my account today it has been seven days since I attempted to put $200 in the account and it is still pending and not there. The inexplicable inconsistency means that I end up using Western Union to get money to her.
In one case the account showed that it was overdrawn due to a cash hold by a hotel that in conference call with the hotel and Google Wallet they confirmed that the hold was released, but Google Wallet held it for a week and showed a negative balance. Classic left hand and right hand not being in tune with one another.
I have spent hours dealing with the curious incompetence of Google Wallet.

Hey I just got off the phone with Google. They are stating that my refund and purchase were marked as a Credit Card transaction but I used a Bank Debit Card so that may be why they were having such difficulty. I have been very diligent in receiving my money back. I was getting nowhere. I am waiting on a reply back from Google at this moment but I am not expecting to hear anything positive. Anyway, my fingers are still crossed. People Check and see if your purchase was a debit or credit card transaction because apparently Google is not smart enough to know the difference. Good luck!

I’d been using this card for a few weeks without any problem. Then I needed to withdraw $300 from an atm, but couldn’t find my debit card…soooooo I added the funds to the wallet. I was wondering what was taking so long, and then I saw a message that my funds wouldn’t be available until 8 days later. WTF? This was an emergency! I could have just gone to the bank, but I decided to do this instead. The funds from my bank were immediately pulled, and now my money was in limbo. I called customer service, the rep said my bank was the one who caused the issue…sounded like BS, but he then offered to see if he could get my money pushed through via some other department. After being on hold for 30 min, he promised a call back. I called my bank, the rep assured me of what I already knew…Google was to blame here. I call Google back. I demand that the transaction be canceled, and this rep tried to get in touch with that department and has me on hold for…another 30 minutes. He promises to resolve and call back. I get off the phone and get an email saying,

“Google has canceled this transaction because of unusual account activity. $300.00 has been refunded to your CHECKING x- XXXX. It may take a few days for the refund to show up on your account transaction history.

Sincerely,

The Google Wallet Team”.

Then I get an email an hour later from one of those reps saying he cancelled the transaction at my request. Really? I don’t think you cancelled anything. I think Google cancelled the transaction, for no reason and with no explanation. My funds are still not available 24 hours later, but it’s a Saturday. Labor Day is this Monday, so we will see if the $300 shows up on Tuesday. Like a previous complaint showed, Google just got a free loan on my money, without my permission. BULLSHIT!!!!

Google Wallet has a horribly unorganized and unhelpful customer service center. I was ripped off by a vendor and went through the process of filing a claim to receive a refund. Follow-up communications took place via gmail. While waiting for a decision after supplying them with all the pertinent information and digital evidence to corroborate the facts, I received a message stating that my case was closed. Confused I searched my Gmail account to see if I had missed some communications. I found that they sent a single message off our existing conversation chain that was somehow filtered into my junk mail folder. That message asked for a response, but as it was unseen, they did not receive one. Closing my case at that point, still, made no sense. Not only did the vendor not provide support for his contesting, but the evidence he did provide supported my case. Further Google should have additionally tried a follow-up email (one on our conversation chain would make the most sense to avoid errors such and junk filtering, which they should be aware of possibly happening) or they should have attempted to call me, since they had all of my contact information. Instead I had to participate in an additional two month process of emailing and calling their “customer service center” where each time I was forced to interact with a new representative that had no knowledge of my case. After each conversation I would be told that they would be the new rep. assigned to my case. I’d receive an email from that rep. where they’d ask me to wait 24-48 before receiving an answer to my inquiry and requesting for me to follow-up with them via that message if that answer didn’t arrive within their stated timeframe. As one never did, after a week, I would follow-up with them and no reply or follow-up message or contact would come. After an additional week of waiting with no reply I would then call-in; again. After experiencing this a few times I escalated the inquiry by requesting a supervisor. Unfortunately, again, this too was the situation amongst them. I kept getting the run around, which continued as they finally told me to file a new dispute case. Realizing they were of no use nor help I contacted my bank before their 90 day filing deadline. My bank provided me with temporary funds while awaiting the refund from Google Wallet, who contacted me via email to say that the request from my bank was under review- this was the beginning of month four. Towards the end of month five with no follow-up nor notification messages (even in my junk folder) from Google I called to follow-up AGAIN, and AGAIN, had to speak with an uninformed supervisor. After a long drawn-out conversation with them they finally confirmed that the money had been refunded to my bank. At the end of that conversation, I kindly drew their attention to the issues with their system to which the reply was, that it’s a process and I just need to understand. The experience was completely frustrating and increased the complexity of a simple situation to an annoying and unacceptable degree. Their process is completely incompetent!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zoclo.
Google may be reliable but not when it comes to Wallet.The company does not tell you that the money you want to be transferred to your bank will remain in their custody for 10 long days before being deposited into your bank account. One may perhaps use the service to pay for things,but do not transfer money. In an emergency situation, Wallet will leave yours empty. I learned it the hard way.

A friend convinced me to try Google Wallet because he had had good luck using it for small purchases. He owed me a substantial amount of money and gave me a partial payment in Wallet. Despite a temporary hold on the money, I thought I would put additional funds in my Wallet so I could make a large purchase. The money was immediately taken from my checking account and I received a notice that the funds would be available in Wallet within 10 days. The following day I received a notice that due to suspicious activity I needed to verify my account. I provided the necessary documents and then waited. Not receiving any confirmation of the receipt of my documents, I called customer service. After a significant amount of time on the phone with a Google employee initially and a follow up call because he didn’t know anything, I was told that I needed to resubmit my documents. I did. Then I received a message that my account was on hold due to violations of Terms of Service. I replied asking for clarification for what exactly I may have done and much later received an email that my account was closed. I again called customer service, spent several minutes with a nice guy who knew little, and then asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor told me that since my account was closed that he couldn’t view the details. The only people that could are the Account Specialists. I asked to speak to one and was told repeatedly that I couldn’t. They are only available by email. I could submit an email and expect a reply in one to two days. I asked where my money was and demanded that it be returned to me. After 45 minutes, the supervisor told me that he saw a notice on my account that my money would be sent to me in the form of a check within 2-3 weeks! They have access to my checking account, they took my money out immediately, but they get to keep my money for nearly about a month now before I get it back. I haven’t received the check yet, so I have no idea if this nightmare will actually be resolved in 2-3 weeks. I asked to file a formal complaint and was told that there is no mechanism to do so, but all calls are recorded and reviewed and I could simply state my dissatisfaction of the phone. Google basically got a free loan of my money and I got a big hassle. My contempt for Google is beyond words.

I had a similarly horrible experience with them. I loved Google before. Now, I never want to do any business with them again. Planning to disassociate from them as much as I can. Totally incompetent “Account Specialists” with no one to answer to. They will lose many customers.

Google wallet is the worse. They don’t let you withdraw your OWN money. Every time I go to an ATM to get cash it doesn’t let me. I have to call and spend an hour on the phone and in hold ( no kidding, an hour) waiting for them to release my money or do an override. Why I have no clue …I shouldn’t have to gave and override to get MY money.

I tried to use Google Wallet to let a client pay me for my freelance programming services. Instead I experienced nothing but grief with Google Wallet both times my client tried to pay me. First time the transaction was held up for over a week until finally I called wallet and they found it was an issue in receiving the money but did not do anything until i called them about it. Then the second time again the payment is held for over a week. Then abruptly they suspended my Google Wallet account indefinitely for violating the terms of service. They gave no warning and no explanation, neither did they mention I was doing anything in violation the last time I was on the phone with their support team. I call their support team and they are able to provide no assistance since this comes from a different department. I am accustomed to experiencing world class products and services from Google, but this experience with wallet gives me reservations about how much I can trust all the other Google services I depend upon daily. I would advise everyone to avoid Wallet until Google gets their house in order with this product. Meanwhile I have to find another way to receive payments.

Google wallet. Is a waste of money and time. It is not free to add money to card as they advertise.
I was chrged the first time. Used the money I added.
A week or 2 later I attempted to load again using my same debit card. And Google canceled my card. They did stop transaction, yet a day later they underhandily try to push it through my bank account again.

Absolutely ridiculous, my bank account is negative over 500 dollars because of these stupid fools. They tell me my bank has to initiate a dispute but my bank will not they say it’s Google wallets responsibility. After being charged two times when should have only been once. They will not pay for my many overdraft fees which have totalled up to $ 185. This is absolute bullshit. What a big mistake thinking Google wallet is capable of doing business & fixing their own problems. They can apologize all they want but they refuse to fix the issue. Thanks for screwing me over worthless bastards.

I called in because I had a charge on my account that I did not authorize. I tried contacting the company but they had no customer service phone number, so I opted to contact Google Wallet’s support instead. The SECOND the call started, alarm bells went off and I started to record the call. It was a male rep in India, trying to sound American until I asked for an actual American rep, then he defaulted to his native accent. After asking me for FOUR different verification methods (seriously, I was giving him the amounts and everything, this wasn’t necessary), he then gave me the runaround for over 20 minutes, telling me I had to fill out a form (why call then?!) or talk to the company that charged me. After explaining that neither was going to happen and that I wanted the charge canceled, he started to laugh and basically tell me to do this. Then he wanted to cancel my card for no reason (seriously, it was the ONE charge on there). When I asked for his supervisor (an American one), he told me not possible. Then, after my anger rose to the surface, he finally transferred me to an India supervisor who asked me to verify EVERYTHING all over again…..he actually talked to her, but didn’t have the professionalism to convey my information to her?! Once I told her I had been recording the call, she told me she had to hang up, WITHOUT helping me, because there would be ‘confidential information’ discussed. CONFIDENTIAL?! Yeah, MY money and card info! What the hell is wrong with Google?! I actually live in California, where Google was founded and housed, yet I can’t get a bad charge denied unless someone in India, who is reading a script, decides to do their job (which they didn’t)?! And why is it so shady that I can’t even record my own interaction with these people?!

Thieves and liars. They call it friendly fraud but it isnt so nice dealing with their customer service haha what a joke. They admit fraud,promise to refund, claim they have refunded and none of its true! They mark everything as cancelled as tho they dont have to give the money back to the bank before I can get it back. They hack your info,loxk you out of everything and heres the best part……after a year of B.S and two wallet cards they mailed out in my name now they want to verify my identity????? Little late in the game people!

I am going through this right now. It has only been two and a half weeks. “MY” money is lost somewhere for a Ticketmaster refund that my bank didn’t get and Ticketmaster ha refunded! I am convinced they are using our money for interest on there billion dollar company. Terrible Business Practice over there.

I used google wallet briefly, it was nice at first, but then my account was hacked. I called 5 times trying to get a refund, which I was told I would receive then told I did receive, which I can see from my bank statements I did not. I still have yet to have this resolved and would not advise google wallet being used because the poor customer service and failure to provide refunds for their negligence.

Please do not use profanity or ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in your review. Reviews must provide a detailed account of your experience. By submitting a review or comment to CPO, you are agreeing to our Comment Policy.

Copyright & Disclaimer

Any unauthorized copying and reproduction of the content of this page, including all meta data and computer code, is strictly prohibited. While the information in the above article is believed to be accurate as of its publish date, the author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the contents. The author and publisher shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material, which is provided “as is,” and without warranties. Any and all use of trade names and/or marks are for identification purposes only and shall not be construed as a claim of affiliation, or otherwise, with CardPaymentOptions.com, Inc. ("CPO") in any form. The sole purpose of the material presented herein is to alert, educate, and inform readers. It is not intended as legal or financial advice. We may earn revenue if you obtain services from a provider that we recommend. See this page to learn how we support our operations.

Search CardPaymentOptions.com

Search for:

About The Author

Phillip Parker is a former merchant services agent who now spends his time reviewing merchant account providers and writing articles about credit card processing to help small business owners find the right services for their needs.

Useful Links

Stay Connected

Newsletter

E.U. regulations require that we notify you of our use of cookies to improve your experience while using this website. Cookie settingsOK

Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.